NPL Site Narrative for Drake Chemical

DRAKE CHEMICALLock Haven, Pennsylvania

Conditions at listing (July 1982): Drake Chemical formerly manufactured chemical intermediates for pesticides and other organic compounds on an 8-acre site in Lock Haven, Clinton County, Pennsylvania. Operations started in the 1960s and closed when Drake filed bankruptcy in the fall of 1981. On-site are 1,700 drums (many leaking and some labeled "cyanides"), numerous tanks, three large unlined lagoons filled with demolition debris, two lined lagoons, and a small feeder lagoon. The feeder lagoon is believed to be the source of a leachate stream flowing through a municipal park (which had to be closed) into Bald Eagle Creek, a major tributary of the Susquehanna River. Drums are emerging from unlined lagoons. Air, soil, and ground water are also contaminated. Sediment in the creek contains high concentrations of a herbicide and other chlorinated organic compounds.

In March and April 1982, EPA used $950,000 in CERCLA emergency funds to remove the 1,700 exposed drums and to drain and neutralize the tanks.

Status (July 1983): In January 1983, EPA signed a $475,000 Superfund State Contract with Pennsylvania for a remedial investigation to determine the type and extent of contamination at the site and a feasibility study to identify alternatives for remedial action. The work is in two phases. The first deals with the migrating leachate stream and the second with the other wastes on the site. The remedial investigation/feasibility study is scheduled to be completed in the first quarter of 1984.

For more information about the hazardous substances identified in this narrative summary, including general information regarding the effects of exposure to these substances on human health, please see the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) ToxFAQs. ATSDR ToxFAQs can be found on the Internet at ATSDR - ToxFAQs (http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxfaqs/index.asp) or by telephone at 1-888-42-ATSDR or 1-888-422-8737.